HELP (ONLY) WANTED
.
The demand for Pastry Cooks in LA is plentiful. So says Poached, Culinary Agents, Zip Recruiter, and numerous other job placement sites. The problem, however, it’s the same four restaurants doing the hiring. Repeatedly. Weekly. Monthly. On an annual basis. What gives? The talent’s there, but this is LA and most places are only interested in hiring help with little experience and offer little pay. In my years working back of house in many of LA’s restaurants, the goal of these places is simple: minimum experience equals minimum wage, or lower. They don’t necessarily want to hire someone with growth potential…growth means advancement; advancement means more money the company will have to pay out. And that is a no no. And despite this unwritten law, the lure for potential candidates from these employers is: growth. Why else would you want to leave your old job? Listen, pastry is a privilege. It requires talent and passion. You can’t just hire anyone off the street to do it. It’s not like being a line cook. Anyone can heat up what day prep did that morning.
.
The new thing these places are doing now is hiring a consultant. My knowledge with restaurants where I worked that outsourced creative input to that of a consultant was futile. Boatloads of money spent on a person that comes in with overwrought ideas--quick turnaround from station to pass not being a factor--and the recipes are far from accurate. Only for the Executive Chef to pull a couple dessert recipes from the Food Network site and the only creative input coming from the pastry department is feigning enthusiasm. True story, btw. In my opinion, pastry is the bastard child of the restaurant industry, and unless a kitchen is led by an Executive Chef with one iota of skill in the pastry arts, the work will remain nothing more than a daily repetitive chore for those people hired and will bore out of the position; seeking growth somewhere else. So, perhaps, it’s not the candidate that’s hard to find as it is the employer that’s not willing to learn from their own greed and ineptitude.
.
Cartoon by Amy Hwang @cartoonamy
.

Multiple Stories of Misconduct Surround Chef’s Departure at Michelin-Starred Entente #FACTS FEB. 21, 2019 - Last week, news broke that acclaimed chef @davisxxiii was no longer in his short-lived role as co-#executivechef at Michelin-starred restaurant @ententechicago The departure follows several stories of misconduct made on Instagram and two misconduct claims during his prior job at #Michelin -starred brewpub Band of Bohemia. It’s unclear if those two women are part of a group of eight who may have come forward with claims against #Davis featured in the aforementioned anonymous Instagram account that surfaced earlier this month
Recalling the events of November 2017, Band of Bohemia’s owners Michael Carroll and Craig Sindelar said a female ex-employee came to them with allegations. They launched an investigation but few coworkers came forward with information. The first accuser also eventually told Sindelar and Carroll that “she didn’t want to move forward” with the probe. Davis was never disciplined and left Band of Bohemia about a year later on December 31, 2018. At the time, he told Eater Chicago he left for better opportunities. He wanted to work closer to downtown, he said. (Band of Bohemia is up north in Ravenswood.) Carroll and Sindelar agreed that Davis’s departure had nothing to do with the allegations
Entente stealthily announced Davis’s departure on Friday by merely omitting his name in a news release about the restaurant’s move. #Restaurant management knew about the allegations soon after they announced Davis’s hire in January, according to a source, but it took weeks to determine their direction. Neither Entente chef #BrianFisher nor owner #TyFujimura , via a spokesperson, would comment on Davis’s departure. Granich said his client was forced out, while reps at the restaurant said that he elected to “step away from the project.” #FOODNINFO#foodnetwork#LEFOODING#michelinstar#michelin#ZAGAT#huffposttaste#huffpostgram#foodandwine#TASTY#eaterchicago#CHICAGO#IANDAVIS#bandofbohemia#netflix#hulu#amazon#wholefoods

Calling all food industry pros! Want to attend New England's biggest food event - for free? Be our guest - use the referral link in our bio for free registration, and be sure to visit us at booth 436. We hope to see you there!